Week ending Friday 13th June 2025
Spending time with my siblings is so good!
This past weekend, my two sisters and I hung out with my brother Mark, at his home in sunny Brisbane. We arrived there on Friday and didn’t fly home until Tuesday, so it was an extra-long-weekend, and we had the most fantastic, fun and food-filled weekend with gorgeous weather… a great respite from the bitter cold of Wagga Wagga.
Just after I posted last week’s blog, I had a lovely early morning catch up with my friend Amy. Quite a few months ago Amy had recommended visiting RTea, a ‘Brew Bar’ on the highway in Wagga, and we had finally got around to meeting each other there for a delightful cup of tea and a light breakfast. It’s a really quaint and relaxing space, with lots of teas for sale plus a range of tea ware and other accessories and gifts. My Matcha Latte was delicious, and while the chicken toastie was only so-so, I will definitely go back. If you live in Wagga and haven’t tried it, I suggest you give it a go.
On Friday morning Bek and I flew from Wagga directly to Brisbane, a route which has been in operation now for a couple of years. Katrina, who lives in Sydney flew from there, with us all arriving in Brisbane within a few minutes of each other!
We spent Friday afternoon and night at Mark’s lovely house just north of the city, ordering pasta for dinner from the local Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers takeaway and enjoying the great view he has from his front deck. We also shared lots (and lots) of laughs as we always do when the four of us get together.
On Saturday we headed off to Eumundi for a holiday within a holiday, with the main attraction being the wonderful markets that Eumundi is so well known for. After exploring the markets and local shops, we stayed overnight there at the local hotel’s new trendy accommodation, ducking down to Noosa for dinner, then taking a drive in the area’s hinterland on Sunday morning before having lunch in Montville and returning to Brisbane late afternoon.
Sunday Lunch at the Long Apron was an absolute highlight, with every aspect incredibly enjoyable. Not often can you say that the ambiance, service, food and drinks were all excellent, but this was definitely the case here. We sat on the open veranda overlooking the gardens listening to live music, were served by the most delightful young lady who really knew her stuff, and the deliciousness of the lunch was as good as I’ve had in a long time. I won’t go through the menu choices in detail, but here are some snaps. Thankfully my siblings don’t mind me tasting their choices, although I was very happy with mine!
After a visit and a walk with Dave’s cousin Katy and family late Sunday, we then headed to Teneriffe to Donnie’s which was opened a month or so ago by Will’s good mate Nick. The New York inspired pizza and cocktail bar is getting great reviews, and I agree with them! The pizzas were thin, crispy and delicious (we chose Pepperoni and the Nduja); the cocktails were great; the meatball starter excellent and super tasty; and my favourite dish was actually the broccolini with whipped almond ricotta and crispy chilli oil.
Did you know that in Brisbane, trips on public transport are only 50 cents?
It was a great reason to take a ferry ride from Hamilton (near Mark’s house) to New Farm where we had a lovely long walk, a very good foot massage and a delicious lunch at New Farm Deli, before catching the ferry back. Mark and I then cooked us all dinner (plus his two housemates). We barbecued a whole eye fillet that had been rolled in pepper and spices, and served it with a pepper jus, roasted sweet potatoes and an attempted copy of Donnie’s Broccolini with whipped almond ricotta. Not a perfect imitation, but I’ll keep trying till I get it right!
By the time we got home on Tuesday afternoon I was well rested and full of the happiness that spending quality time with your loved ones can bring… although the shock of Wagga’s top of 9 degrees was a bit of a come down!
Before I sign off, I have a quick recipe to share with you, since a few have asked since I mentioned it in last week’s blog post.
Lime and Ginger Cordial (makes about 2 litres of strong cordial – you only need a small amount)
- 10 limes
- 5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
- 1 litre water
- 6 cups sugar
- 2 tsp citric acid
- 2 tsp tartaric acid
Using a potato peeler, peel long strips of the zest off half of the limes. Juice all the limes.
Bring water to the boil with the lime zest and ginger.
Once boiling, add the sugar and both acids. Stir until dissolved. Boil for 3 minutes.
Remove from the heat. Pour in the lime juice, then bring back to the boil and gently simmer for 2 minutes.
Allow to cool, then strain through a fine strainer. Pour into clean sterilised bottles.
Really delicious mixed with sparkling water and even better with a nip of tequila!
Hope you all have a great weekend… and stay warm!
Sara xx